Happy Birthday
Thomas Hobbes!
Born: April 5, 1588
in Westport, Malmesbury, Wiltshire,
England
Died: December 4, 1679
in Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, England
His masterpiece: Leviathan,
1651
Tenet: One shows allegiance to a ruler only so long as the ruler
offers protection. But there can be only one ruler, the
Leviathan.
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Pillars
of Hobbes' Contributions
- Adamant protagonist of deductive reasoning based on
Euclidean structures . . . .
Wallis vs. Hobbes
Hobbes refuted
all proof based on induction and experimentation, views that strongly
aligned him with the Royalists during the English Civil War, but
alienated him from scientists in the newly founded Royal Society of
London.
His best known opponent in mathematics at the Royal Society was John
Wallis, Savilian Professor of Geometry. Among other famous
debates, Hobbes' attempts to "square the circle" was opposed by
Wallis. Other contemporaries considered Hobbes to be a
mathematician on a par with Roberval and Fermat.
Fearing for his life during the Civil War, he retreated to Paris where
he associated with Mersenne's friends, published on optics and objected
to Descartes' Meditations.
He also served as the mathematics tutor to the Prince of Wales, thus
establishing strong contact with the ousted monarchy.
- Algebraic Notation
Hobbes claimed that algebraic symbols were valid representations for
lines, surfaces and volumes but should not be used in mathematical
proof.
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